Hiroshima by John Hersey.
Ultimate Devastation.
With the 75th anniversary of Hiroshima today on August 6, I had finally decided to read this classic non-fiction book about the destruction, mayhem, and long-term devastation caused during WWII when the U.S. dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima.
And what a chilling book it is! The author follows six survivors of that harrowing day to find out what happened to them. After reading this book the events of that day may just be burned into my brain like the intense heat and flash of the bomb that actually imprinted shadows of objects and people from the blast on walls like photographs. People were burning, vomiting. As flames consumed structures all around, others were squashed and trapped under buildings and debris. Unbelievably, the weather brought more misery to a living hell with storms and a flood. The radiation, which was powerful enough to expose x-rays in a hospital basement volt, would cause more damage for years to come to those that survived.
The book was first published in 1946, a year after the bombing. Almost forty years later, John Hersey went back to discover the fate of those six people who survived and that is now included in the Aftermath chapter.
This is a book that should be read by everyone, so there is no mistaking what nuclear weapons can do. The wounds, the smell, the image of Mr. Tanimoto trying to help someone up only to have the skin of the woman’s arm in his hand like a long glove will stay with me a long, long time.
Annette
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